Count down to the Rugby World Cup: Part one of our guide to the venues hosting the tournament

Post Sport takes a look at some of the venues playing host to the games, and which games are being staged at each stadium

by Rob Griffiths

18:07, 28 Aug 2015

General view of the Millennium Stadium.

The Rugby World Cup is being staged at 13 venues across England and Wales.

In the first of a two part series Post sport takes a look at some of the venues which will stage the games, and what matches are taking place at each stadium.

Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton & Hove

Capacity – 30,750.

This stunning addition to the Sussex landscape is situated on the outskirts of the city of Brighton & Hove – a short hop on the train out from the city centre, which had been desperate for a large venue of this quality for many years.

Constructed at a cost of £93m, the ground won plaudits and awards for its semi-circular stand roofs and tubular supporting steelwork from both fans of sport and architecture. Built to replace the local football team’s decrepit Goldstone Ground, it is spacious and comfortable, with luxurious padded seats. Capacity has now been upped to 30,000, with the overall cost also rising in excess of £120m.

Matches

South Africa v Japan – Pool B – Saturday, September 19 (4.45pm)

Samoa v USA – Pool B – Sunday, September 20 (12pm)

Elland Road, Leeds

General View of Elland Road(Image: Action Images / Michael Regan)

Capacity – 37,914.

Leeds may be a hotbed of rugby league – former Super League champions, Leeds Rhinos, play just down the road at Headingley – but Elland Road’s famously feisty old-school atmosphere makes it perfect for the passion and noise of a Rugby Union World Cup fixture.

The 15-man code has been played here before, if only once: in 1992 when more than 14,000 turned up to watch the South African national side, who had just been readmitted to the international game. Boasting players like Naas Botha and Robert du Preez, they beat a North of England XV.

Matches

Italy v Canada – Pool D – Saturday, September 26 (2.30pm)

Scotland v USA – Pool B – Sunday, September 27 (2.30pm)

Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester

Kingsholm on match day

Capacity – 16,500.

Gloucester’s ground has an enviable history when it comes to international rugby. Kingsholm hosted its first Test match way back in 1900, when Billy Bancroft led Wales to a 13-3 victory over England. His opposite number that day was one Octopus Gamlin, or Herbert to his mother.

Kingsholm didn’t host another international for 91 years and when it did, 12,000 fans watched world champions New Zealand score eight tries as they cruised past the USA 46-6 in RWC 1991 thanks to a hat-trick from full back Terry Wright. It was later the venue for a 2000 Rugby League World Cup match between New Zealand and Lebanon.

Home to Premiership side Gloucester, Kingsholm is widely regarded as the noisiest crowd in the league, largely due to the boisterous inhabitants of The Shed stand. In 2007 the main grandstand was redeveloped, increasing the total capacity to 16,500.

Matches

Tonga v Georgia – Pool C – Saturday, September 19 (12pm)

Scotland v Japan – Pool B – Wednesday, September 23 (2.30pm)

Argentina v Georgia – Pool C – Friday, September 25 (4.45pm)

USA v Japan – Pool B – Sunday, October 11 (8pm)

Leicester City Stadium, Leicester

King Power Stadium, Leicester

Capacity – 32,312.

Like Midlands counterpart Pride Park (Derby), the Leicester City Stadium replaced a decaying old ground with a state-of-the-art all-seater facility.

It has seen significant oval ball action already: Leicester Tigers have played six matches here, including a 2005 Heineken Cup semi-final, which they lost to Toulouse, and a 2006 quarter-final in the same tournament, which saw them defeated by Bath. The jinx was broken by a win over Llanelli in a European Cup semi in 2007, and they’ve since got revenge over Bath on the ground, too.

In 2006, to celebrate the centenary of Springbok overseas tours, the stadium hosted a World XV v South Africa contest, the Springboks taking the honours 32-7.

Matches

Argentina v Tonga – Pool C – Sunday, October 4 (2.30pm)

Canada v Romania – Pool D – Tuesday, October 6 (4.45pm)

Argentina v Namibia – Pool C – Sunday, October 11 (12pm)

Manchester City Stadium, Manchester

Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Capacity – 47,800.

As the centrepiece of Manchester’s successful bid to stage the Commonwealth Games, the venue in the east of the city, came to life in the summer of 2002.

The City of Manchester Stadium had rugby at its heart early on, in the Sevens final at the Games, New Zealand defeated Fiji to claim gold. Among the champions that day were All Blacks Mils Muliaina, Bruce Reihana and skipper Eric Rush, while the legendary Waisale Serevi turned out for Fiji.

Manchester City FC moved in the following year and have been there ever since, dramatically winning the Premier League at the ground in May 2012. The capacity can be increased to 60,000 for concerts, with Oasis and Take That two of the star attractions to have played at the venue and, thanks to pioneering smart card technology, 1,200 people can enter the ground every minute. The City of Manchester Stadium has also hosted international rugby league, and the super league’s Magic Weekend event in 2012.

Matches

England v Uruguay – Pool A – Saturday, October 10 (8pm)

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

(Image: David Rogers/Getty Images)

Capacity – 74,154.

The Welsh national stadium may not be that old, but it has already sealed a place in rugby history. The foundations of this atmospheric ground have been shaken to the core three times as Wales secured Six Nations Grand Slam victories here in 2005, 2008 and 2012.

Situated a stone’s throw from Cardiff Central Station, it is the second largest sports venue in the world with a fully retractable roof. Built to replace the Arms Park, it opened with rugby (Wales beating South Africa) before becoming the primary host venue for Rugby World Cup 1999, with Australia overhauling France in the final. Since then, its turf has held Test matches as well as Celtic League and Heineken Cup ties. It’s not all about the oval ball, mind: Wales play football here, too, and the finals of the FA Cup, League Cup and Football League Trophy have also been stages there while Wembley was being rebuilt.